CHARLOTTE — The competition for the starting center spot is over.

Panthers head coach Dave Canales said Monday the team was moving forward with veteran Austin Corbett in the middle, after he and Cade Mays had competed throughout the spring.

Corbett, who will turn 30 prior to the start of the regular season, started at center for the first five games last year before he was lost to a torn biceps.

"We talked to Austin and we talked to Cade Mays; they both did a great job," Canales said. "Austin Corbett's going to be our starting center.

"We decided to make that decision knowing that this week, going to Houston with the joint practice and then having the game, we felt like those reps just kind of solidifying who's the starter going to be with Bryce Young, it's a good time to kind of transition to where he's getting more of those reps versus split."

Canales described the competition as "really close," but cited Corbett's experience and leadership as a factor.

"I mean, it was a really close competition, and I think Corbett just kind of brings a level of leadership that just kind of edged him out, in my opinion," Canales said. "So, again, competition brings out the best in both guys, and I was really proud of the way that they competed."

Corbett came here as a free agent in 2022 after winning a Super Bowl ring with the Rams, and started all 17 games at guard, but tore his ACL in the finale at New Orleans.

His rehab lasted into the next year, and when he came back, he got four games in before an MCL injury on the same knee.

Mays, originally a sixth-round pick here in 2022, was released at the initial cuts to 53 and spent time on the Giants' practice squad.

But he came back after Corbett was injured, and started eight games down the stretch in the middle, at a time when the offense was at its best.

Canales said he'll now remain as the backup center and depth at guard. The Panthers are thin there at the moment, as Damien Lewis (shoulder) and Chandler Zavala (knee) are out with injuries, and Robert Hunt (ankle) left practice briefly Monday and got his ankle taped, but finished his scheduled work.

Mays is part of a deep and versatile group, and that's important always, but especially when injuries stack up.

The Panthers finished practice Monday with Brandon Walton and Ja'Tyre Carter in Hunt and Lewis' respective spots with the ones.

"He's going to be all across the line," Canales said of Mays. "He's our backup center for now, and he can play guard, so he's a really valuable, really important piece of what we're doing."